


A show of faith

by Kasan_Soulblade



Series: Cut and Run [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Coming of Age, Freindship, Gen, Illegal Activities, Mentorship, Prequel to guilty and the innocent, Rocket's rise, child-Giovanni, father vs son, giovanni+Oak mentorship, kindness vs brutality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2019-09-14
Packaged: 2020-10-18 06:27:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20634605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kasan_Soulblade/pseuds/Kasan_Soulblade
Summary: His virtues were practiced and paraded out as needed.  He was an actor without a stage, but as time wore on he became increasingly aware that this wasn’t true for others.  For others there were no pressures, no fronts to mask unsavory traits or secrets.It was a slow revelation that started with the gift of a Meowth he wasn’t meant to have.The weight of that contradiction lay on his mind, causing a particular heaviness to rest over his heart, as days and years worn on it'd influence him as much as the temptations laid before him.Prequel to “Two Paths” and “Guilty and Innocent”





	A show of faith

It was midnight at Pallet, and housed within one of the towns one few prestigious buildings he was somewhat sheltered from the darkness of night. Outside was a dark roiling blur, and illusion of motion given by wind and highlights as light stretched beyond visibility over the mass of dark's back. Still there was no mystery, no big ones anyway. Beyond the golden light spilling from the open window the farm view was... almost monochormatic. There was more illusion of color than anything this time of day but familiarity both personal and simply being there in person during brighter times filled in the details. 

The fields had been left to go fallow. The whole lot was commandeered from the once ambitious farmer who hadn't realized that glacial rock piles in the center of his lot would actually be a problem and the new owner had made once promise to preserve tradition then kicked up another. Oh there was a garden, and a bird feeder, but only enough to feed a person at best and the gardeners skills were such that take out would be abetter option than agriculture. To the hypocrisy Leo smiled, leaning out into the view he couldn't see and strained his ears and eyes keen on out, beyond the guest rooms walls. 

There, he imagined more than saw, were fences in the distance set up for inevitable creatures of massive size that hadn't been caught yet. A glare to the far right would let a viewer in better light see the muddy banks of pits that were filled with water and housed little ecosystems so stagnancy wouldn't be an issue. It's most predominant residents (the ranches most present residents) were the swarm of Horsea played in those pools due to some girl trainer managing to drop twenty pokeballs over some cruise ship. The swarms numbers contested with the over fat the Pidgy the bird feeder drew and kept and really having spooked them when he pulled open the window so fast had been a plus.

The dratted cooing outside had stopped, and so he'd basked in silence and dark for a little while with the nice bonus of him not having to be out in it. 

Housed in Pallet's wonder, it's own pokeranch and being guest to it's sole researcher said guest of such researcher wasn't being considerate. He'd turned on all the lights between here and the bathroom, then deciding he was feeling a bit hungry and edgy he left a trail of on lights from his bedroom to the kitchen. So long as he didn't leave them on after going to bed Sam was likely to not notice, thus he wouldn't complain. Wending though a house that was more library than habitation, he hopped over a pile of dropped books by stairwell, their scattered state and torn pages pointed at someone playing with them, someone with claws, but what he didn't know couldn't be traced to him. At stairwell he considered banister and sliding down but something grim and unpleasant at acting like a child reared it's head and though unformed and vague it was enough that he didn't.

Soundlessly he went down, skipping the creaky step, until he'd neared the base and something else thumped right onto it making a hellish racket. 

A look back found the Meo- _his_ Meowth sitting on the stair below the noisy one, one paw getting lickity licked, eyes scrunched tight, whole demeanor screaming "wasn't me" even though he obviously had done so.

"Bad cat, noisy cat." He barked, then stilled, because he was being a whole lot noisier than the cat had just been. Holding his breath, counting to twenty, he strained ears against silence that stayed silence, save for tongue rasping over fur there was nothing. That and snoring, that hadn't caught off yet, Oak was mercifully dead to the world save not, because snoring... 

“Meowth!” The cat crowed, stealth mission accomplished and proud of it the feline struck a pose that was part rise part tail wiggle.

"Shhh."

"Owth!" Tail wiggle, meaningful look that meant... something... cats were weird. At least dogs sat and stayed quiet, this cat just flopped over and rolled right up on the noisy step again and froze when the thing creaked under him.

"Oh my.." The expletive was muffled as he set a hand over his face and groaned. "Whatever, you can get caught, just leave me out of it." Giovanni hissed, setting his shoulders and stalking off.

His oh so mature throwing his partner under the bus might have inspired more gravity if he weren't wearing a pair of squeaky Gengar slippers. But Oak had insisted he wear something soft for when the floors got chill and considering the slapdash nature of the builder drafts were a plenty. The grey frizzy long pants and shirt that'd been first taken from some storage pile in the house's back then hastily cobbled together to sort of fit with a hurried appointment with the sewing machine and space fabrics used to bind the seams to a tighter configuration probably didn't help much. That or the purloined bathrobe belt that was holding the pants up. 

Still attire notwithstanding he was more than willing to let stupid be stupid without him.

Maybe he should update the Meowth's name in the official records, stupid seemed apt if a bit crude... _Idiota_ seemed a bit less obvious, and was short so he could say it quickly maybe that'd be better. Renaming taking most of his wits a quick left was backtracked to a quicker right and another string of lights was left on in his wake. But it was irrelevent, he was in. White tiles and drafts galore, the slippers only muffled chills that bad, still he was here and a quick scramble up the counter got him a glass. Sliding down with a squeak thump, prize held tight, he padded up to the fridge and pulled it open at and had a new sound effect by his feet.

"Mew?"

And forget dogs and Growlithe eyes, there was no stronger test of will then a pair of Meowth eyes being canted up his way. The little beast sucked in a breath, tried to look skinnier and it was the ribs he could make out under fur that decided him. With a huff and swear he set cup on the floor by fridge door and scampered on counter forgetting about fridge doors and closing them behind him. Up he went and though he had to get on his tip toes he was able to get a small shallow bowl down for the feline...

Who was half in half out the fridge tail lashing in glee.

"No.. bad cat! Out!" 

Waggling a hand that wasn't getting seen because the fur ball was more than half in, Giovanni hopped down and never mind the bowl in his hand he hauled the cat out.

"I said stop I mean-"

And of course the Meowth argued, and writhed, the only improvement was that there were no claws being used. Unfortunately Giovanni's grip wasn't the best, on cat or bowl and one sudden twist had him falling on his butt, the arms he threw out to catch himself was all instinctual, the grip on the bowl wasn't, both cat and boy started at the loud crash, then looked to each other. A cleared throat from behind set the cat's ears back and boy to wince.

"Umm... Hi Sam?"

He didn't bother to turn, looked into the mussed fridge and decided he'd face the music after the band had packed up and left. It seemed safer, Meowth harboring a similar mindset burrowed into the arms he'd been trying to wiggle out of seeking something like safe and hiding.

He'd of had better luck if he weren't trying to burrow into a ten year old boy's side, there wasn't a lot of mass but a flipped up fold and some wiggling got him partially under the boy's shirt.

"Good morning Mr. Giovanni." Never a spring Pidgy Samuel sounded testy, his teeth might of been clenched together, Leo still did not look back or up to check. "Once you're done gawping you should probably get to closing the door. I'll get you the dust pan and broom, you've made quite the mess and should get to cleaning it up before you both go straight back to bed."

A meow of protest sounded under Leo's shirt, the whiskers tickling even around the wail.

That made Sam sigh. "And a small snack I suppose, there's gram crackers and dried pokepellets on the floor level cabinet, just sprinkle a little on the floor, you'll be doing a sweep in a moment so don't put down too much."

Poking his head out with a quiet "pert" the Meowth looked up and employed another round of Meowth eyes. Standing, slowly, minding his butt and the glass, Leo tucked one arm under the mass of feline under his shirt. The other nudged the door shut with a click. Though it took effort he shuffled towards the cabinet indicated and pulled it open. One white paw reached out, pat patted the bag of dried whatever it was in the back, pulling out the bag in the front "Torchick flavored crunch and munch" the faded packaging declared, he scooped out a handful and set back to opening so the suddenly not so placid mass under his shirt couldn't wiggle out and go back.

The huff and glare canted up his way as he sprinkled the snack down wasn't Toxic level venom, but it promised a hairball in the shoes later.

Which was fine, because through observation Leo knew what Meowth didn't like but would grudgingly eat, they could play the spite game as much as they needed to until he won. Knowing that ploy very well Meowth swiped at pellets making a big of a mess as he could, then eyed child and his box of honey nibbles. Persians were notorious for having gems that flared with fey light as they plotted, Meowths, Leo learned, cackle purred and swished their tails

"No, bad cat!" 

A few moments later Sam found Meowth siting at his boy's stomach, batting at hands that were clenched over head. Something like glee warmed those crystal eyes as it harrassed. A pile of pellets was scattered about, some damp and chewed and spat up, it added a veneer of slime to the mess of glassware and dust bunnies scattered about.

"I'm not losing to you!"

"Merrow ow!"

Not even wanting to know the man coughed, both looked up, maybe chagrined, maybe not.

It was just too early for anything.

"Clean the floor, then bed, and turn off all the lights on your way up I'm not a multi millionaire unlike some other people and can't pay all that much for my electric bill."

"Merooow."

"But it's his faul-"

Bemused more than anything Sam cut in, not raising his voice but sharpening his tone to let them know how low his patience was running. "Considering one of you can't manage tools I'd suggest that you have the one who can't sweep handle the lights, but I'll leave you to deal with what you want _quietly_ and without making things worse." That stopped the paw that was edging towards a cup that was sitting in the center of the floor. Lickity lick went the tongue as a shoulder was groomed, really the effected innocence was a bit much. "Whatever you do I'll see you in a few hours for breakfast."

Leaving boy and feline to sort themselves out Sam made his way to bed, where all sane creatures should have been. Whether they followed suit after cleaning up or not was on them.


End file.
